Gaddafi takes kitchen diplomacy approach with Rice

By Sue Pleming

RABAT (Reuters) - The heart of many homes is the kitchen and that is where Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi hosted Condoleezza Rice for a Ramadan meal this week, a symbolic gesture to try to end decades of enmity.

The casual setting in a small kitchen on the compound bombed by U.S. warplanes in 1986 was unusual for the first trip by a U.S. secretary of state in 55 years that was aimed at kicking off a new chapter in relations.

But it also underlined Gaddafi's attempt to bring a more personal touch -- including gifts of jewellery and a mandolin -- to start a better relationship with the United States.

Rice's eight-hour visit had been expected to produce surprises from the unpredictable Libyan leader once referred to by President Ronald Reagan as the "mad dog" of the Middle East.

The drama was tipped to unfold in a tent on the sprawling, fortified compound in Tripoli but Gaddafi opted for a deliberately low-key approach with the top U.S. diplomat he refers to as "Leezza" and "my darling black African woman" in media interviews.

The first recorded public encounter was in a bland reception room, unadorned by flags or any other diplomatic trappings and where the chaos came from jostling photographers and journalists trying to record the awkward moment as Rice's staff scrambled over furniture to get into the room.

Gaddafi's appearance was regal rather than military and he wore a crisp, white robe with a green brooch in the shape of Africa, shedding his trademark dark glasses. The female bodyguards he sometimes surrounds himself with were not there.

"NORMAL DIPLOMATIC EXCHANGE"